Will Democrats Forfeit the 2016 Election?

Even before Hillary started swooning in the polls and her email scandal blew up, most of my left-leaning friends felt she was a certain loser, and were lining up behind Bernie Sanders. True, if you think Bernie Sanders would make a better general election candidate that Hillary you may not be entirely right in the head, but the distinct lack of enthusiasm for Hillary is the significant factor.

Who is going to tell her she has to drop out in favor of Biden? Husband Bill? Love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. Better make sure all the ashtrays and lampshades are secured beforehand.

Hillary: You no good, %#$)*^$*^^!—^#$%^*!!!

Bill: But I’m sacrificing, too. Just think of all the interns I’ll be passing up!

Democratic insiders haven’t hit the panic button yet, but Hillary Clinton’s burgeoning scandal over her use of a private email server while secretary of state is leaving them with a bad case of political heartburn.

When a story ledes with “haven’t hit the panic button yet,” you can be sure that they’re hitting the panic button. I think Hillary left it in the top drawer, right next to that famous “reset” button.

The National Journal’s Ron Fournier is blunt, reminding us of the wonderful times we had back in the 1990s “parsing” President Clinton’s claims:

In March, she pledged unequivocally, “There is no classified material.” Only after that was discovered to be false did Clinton and her team add the “marked classified at the time” caveat.

In other words, the integrity of “There is no classified material” depends on the meaning of “is.” Clinton herself tried to redefine the truth last week (“Parsing Clinton: What Is She Hiding?”).

Then why am I — someone almost certain to vote for a Democrat, and hoping to vote for a woman, in 2016 — so pleased by Sanders’ ascent? Because it helps to puncture the aura of inevitability around Hillary Clinton. Yes, she continues to lead in every national poll by a large margin, which is why few formidable opponents have shown an interest in challenging her for the Democratic nomination. That has always been foolish, given the mountain of baggage she and her husband carry around with them everywhere they go. But now it’s become downright irresponsible.

The six-page memo [from the Clinton campaign], written by campaign manager Robby Mook and distributed in DC Monday by communications director Jennifer Palmieri, argues that there’s no reason for Clinton’s backers to panic.

“Winning campaigns have a plan and stick to it, in good times and bad. President Obama endured significant pressure in 2007 to abandon his strategy, but his campaign remained focused on winning in Iowa and ultimately prevailed,” Mook wrote.

And look who Obama’s campaign beat in 2008?

You know your party is in trouble when the fallback candidates are Biden, John Kerry, and Al Gore. But worry no more—a savior is on the horizon: Larry Less-Lesser-Lessig is thinking of running! He’s announced his interest in the Puffington Hostno less. And get this: he only wants to run to do one thing—pass campaign finance reform—and then resign the presidency:

I want to run. But I want to run to be a different kind of president. “Different” not in the traditional political puffery sense of that term. “Different,” quite literally. I want to run to build a mandate for the fundamental change that our democracy desperately needs. Once that is passed, I would resign, and the elected Vice President would become President.

Now that’s just what American voters want: a single-issue candidate who will quit after reforming “the process.”

Does this sound like a party brimming with winning ideas and fresh faces?